We are delighted to welcome back to the show Dr habil. Leszek Gardeła. It’s been two years since our last conversation with him, and so we were excited to get a chance to speak with him again and hear about his new book The Vikings in Poland (hardback now available, paperback to be released soon). Leszek is a Polish archaeologist, so this history is personal for him, and this book has been a long time in the making. But thankfully he undertook the task of researching and writing it, for it finally brings to light an often-neglected but very important aspect of the Viking Age.

In addition to his book, we talk about our changing understanding of just what a “Viking” is (or was) and the art and artifacts that help us to see them a bit more clearly. We also talk about the misuse of history and symbols of the past particularly those connected with the Viking Age. And we cover the migrations and mixes of past peoples that show us a dynamic world that can’t easily be reduced to Scandinavian or Slav, Viking or warrior, us or them. As always, the conversation with him is thoughtful and enlightening.

Leszek is a prolific writer. He is skilled at taking the complexities and nuances of the Vikings and bringing reason and clarity — in short, he finds the humans behind the legends. We highly recommend his books for anyone interested in the Viking Age.

Dziękuję Leszek! We look forward to chatting again.

Click the images to buy his books. Vikingology has no affiliate relationship and does not profit from book sales. We provide links simply to support the author.

Interested in our previous chat with Leszek? We’ve got you covered…

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